Origin and history
The Hotel de Boysson, also known as the Hotel de Cheverry or Boysson-Cheverry, is a private hotel located at 11 rue Malcousinat in the historic centre of Toulouse. Built in the second half of the 15th century by Hugues I Boysson, rich changer and banker anointed by Charles VII in 1437, it embodies the economic power of its sponsor. The building, originally erected after the fire of 1463 that ravaged the district, is distinguished by its facade on Rue des Changes (now Malcousinat Street) and its organization around a courtyard and a garden. Hugues I Boysson, from Rouergue, settled his family there before the hotel passed to his son, Hugues II, and then to his grandson Jean de Boysson, who sold him in 1535 to finance Bournazel castle.
Jean de Cheverry, an influential pastel merchant, acquired the hotel in 1535 and undertook major changes in the Renaissance style, typical of the tastes of the time. It adds four building bodies, changes the windows of the 24 metre hexagonal tower, and incorporates decorative elements such as cariatids and arabesques. The monumental fireplace on the ground floor, decorated with columns and heraldic lions, initially carries the Boysson weapons before being modified by Pierre de Vignaux, future owner. The transformations of Cheverry reflect the social ascent of the Toulouse merchants, now able to compete with the aristocracy by the architectural fascist.
The hotel changes hands several times over the centuries, passing between those of capituls, councillors in Parliament, and noble families such as the Vignaux or the Mouilhet. In 1775 Bertrand Autenac added a new façade aligned with Malcousinat Street. After the Revolution, the building was left to the Hospices in 1918 before being classified as a historical monument in 1928. Today, completely restored, it hosts the House of Occitanie, testifying to the economic and political history of Toulouse, between the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The structure of the hotel reveals its two phases of construction: the inner courtyard and the Gothic tower, attributed to Hugues I Boysson, contrast with the Renaissance residences of Cheverry. The hexagonal tower, crowned with blind mâchicoulis, houses a screw staircase serving a vaulted hall with five edges. To the left of the tower, a door window decorated with cariatides illustrates the mix of styles. The second courtyard, a former Boysson garden, preserves a Gothic window with sculpted rinseaux of thistles, while the arcade gallery, supported by doric columns, recalls Cheverry's additions.
The protected elements include the tower, the Gothic low hall with its sixteen-ribed vault (linders and thirdons), and the chimney whose coat bears the traces of successive coats of arms. The houses between the two courts, dated 1535, show Italy's influence in the Toulouse architecture of the Renaissance. The hotel, owned by the commune, thus embodies the transition between two epochs, mixing medieval heritage and artistic innovations, while reflecting the central role of merchants in Toulouse's political and social life.
Ranked a historic monument for its heritage value, the Boysson Hotel also illustrates the city's urban changes. Its history, marked by fires, sales and transformations, reveals the social affirmation strategies of its owners. From Hugues I Boysson, an anobli changer, to Jean de Cheverry, treasurer general of France, each family left its mark, making this building an architectural palimpsest. Its current use, dedicated to the promotion of Occitan culture, perpetuates its role as a place of exchange and prestige in the heart of Toulouse.
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